


Sometimes Silence is the Loudest Sound

by Nikkitten



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Hospitalization, Major Illness, Mutism, Possible smut, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reader Needs a Hug, Selectively mute, Slow Burn, Therapy, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27465589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikkitten/pseuds/Nikkitten
Summary: You have selective mutism, you don’t talk. A certain someone makes it their mission to get you to open up to him. This is going to be a slow process and a very slow burn relationship. That’s all! Enjoy y’all. Also, some people put the backstory in their intro for their stories but I’m working it into the first chapter.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Reader
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	1. Breaking the Silence

Chapter 1: Breaking the silence?

“Y/N?” A voice spoke and you looked up and smiled brightly at the man who had sat down across from you. He rested his hands in front of him and shook his head in amusement. He’d visited you a couple times and you liked him, he was nice and didn’t try to force you to talk. You grab your whiteboard and write a message to him to say hello. “You doin’ okay? Did you sleep?” He asked concern etched on his face and you patted his hand. After a hard look you shrunk a little and shook your head to answer his question. You barely sleep due to night terrors, or regular nightmares if it’s a good night. You very rarely had a good day but lately you’ve been feeling a little better, you had been living in your group home for a little over a month since you were kicked out of your parent’s house.

He sighed and put his other hand over yours, trapping it between his hands. You giggled quietly and pulled your hand away, writing something on your board. “ _Why do you keep visiting me? What’s your name?_ ” You held it up and he shrugged a little and pursed his lips in thought before answering carefully. “You remind me a little bit of myself I guess…My name? Um…Diego.” You frowned at the vague answer and chewed on your bottom lip before erasing your board to write something else. “ _Diego is a nice name. You seem familiar somehow, I’ve been thinking and can’t remember._ ” At that he smiled sadly and shook his head. “Y/N, you definitely don’t know me from anywhere.” He lied, thinking back to the day he saved you from the man who had held you captive for months.

He couldn’t believe he found you again, he never tried to keep up with you or anything but…he thought about you from time to time. You were so small and fragile the first time he met you, only 15, he was 21 at the time, fresh out of the police academy. He dropped you off at the station, along with a beaten up and tied man. You were transported to the hospital from there and the man was thrown in jail after his wounds were treated for the most part. From the hospital you were released to your parent’s care until two months ago when they had enough of your “quirks” and decided that they didn’t want to care for you anymore. Diego spotted you when he was checking up on one of the other people that were living in your little group home. You came up to him first and introduced yourself since he was a new face and you felt like you knew him from somewhere. He recognized you right off the bat, you hadn’t changed much, just filled out more and got a couple inches taller.

You waved your hand in front of his face and blinked at him. He blinked a few times then looked back at you and smiled softly. “Sorry, lost in thought.” He apologized and you shook your head and gave him a thumbs up. He softly took your hand in his and turned it palm up to check the crescent shaped marks on your palm. You swallowed hard and pulled your hand away gently and set it down on the table. “Those are fresh…” He murmured and frowned starting to reach out for your hand again but stopping halfway. You nodded and sighed softly clenching your hands into fists, trying not to cry. “Night terror?” He asked softly and you nodded again. “Must’ve been bad if you ended up with marks that deep.” He muttered and you sniffled and wiped your eyes trying to stem the eager flow of tears.

He looked a little panicked and looked around for a napkin or something to absorb your tears. He couldn’t find anything, so he pulled a clean cloth he’d usually use for cleaning his knives and reached over and wiped your eyes. “Shh…You’re safe here, remember?” His voice was soft and reassuring; you swore you’d heard it before. You sniffled again and he handed you the cloth which you took, clutching it in your hand like it was a lifeline. “t-t-th..” you started to speak but weren’t able to get through the whole word. He smiled crookedly at you, an odd mix of pride and sadness on his face. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to thank me…or speak if you don’t want to.” You got up and flung your arms around him burying your face in the crook of his neck. He stiffened at first, not expecting you to throw yourself at him but slowly wrapped his arms around you to hold you gently against him. You were almost sitting in his lap due to the awkward positioning, so you pulled away and tried to hide the blush creeping up on your face.

You picked up your board and wrote “ _Sorry, I’m not usually a hug person. I don’t like being touched. I have to go soon, visiting hours are almost up._ ” You smiled sadly at him because you didn’t want him to go but he had gotten there late so there wasn’t a lot of time left for his visit. He nodded and returned the sad smile; he didn’t want to leave either. “I have to work tonight anyway… I can come back tomorrow?” He offered and you smiled wider and nodded happily. He stood up and gave you another hug which you returned, just because it was him. You inhaled deeply because he smelled good, the scent was comforting and safe. “I will see you tomorrow. Count on it.” He winked as he pulled away and you rolled your eyes at him and grinned. “ _Bye._ ” You wrote on your board and he chuckled. “See ya, Y/N.” He ruffled your hair making you whine a little and turned to leave.

You grabbed his wrist gently and he stopped and turned back to you with an eyebrow raised. “Y-y-y-you…” You started to speak, your voice was very rough but soft at the same time and you took a shaky breath before closing your eyes. You had suddenly remembered exactly who he was. “S-s-sa-aved m-m-me…” He looked at you in shock and his eyes widened for a moment before his face softened and he nodded. “Yeah…I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to bring up any potential bad memories for you.” He admitted sheepishly. You nodded and let go of his wrist letting your hand fall back to your side. He handed you a piece of paper. “This is my phone number, if you ever need anything or want to talk, you can text or call me, okay?” He spoke softly and smiled at you. You took the paper and smiled back with a nod. “I have to go, Y/N. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, he left the building. That night sleep definitely didn’t find you, even though you tried to sleep, all you could think about is Diego Hargreeves and the few memories that had resurfaced.


	2. His Reasoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be from Diego’s perspective, sort of explaining his thought process as to why he’s chosen to continue seeing you at the group home you’re staying at. Takes place like a week after the first chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: His Reasoning

You put your car into park and took a deep breath before turning the ignition off, but you didn’t get out of the car yet. You didn’t know why you were nervous about going in to see Y/N; you had seen her at least twice this week. She hadn’t spoken since that one time and you couldn’t help but to feel a little disappointed. Sometimes you still saw her as the kid you saved but she definitely wasn’t a kid anymore. She was filled out in all the right places and extremely beautiful, shoulder length auburn hair, blue-grey eyes that could see into your soul, the cutest smile that made your heart damn near stop every time you saw it, and when she giggled or laughed it was music to your ears. The back and forth of seeing her as a woman and the kid you saved was confusing. You didn’t know if you were starting to have feelings for her or if you were just becoming fond of her since you saw her more often than you saw any other human being. She was pretty much all you could think of, even when you were patrolling. _Especially_ when you were patrolling. You found yourself going by the group home multiple times a night just to make sure no one was hanging around that shouldn’t be. Who was this girl to you? Why were you acting like this? You had no idea; you’d never reconnected with someone you had saved until her.

You finally worked up the courage to get out of the car, you heard the familiar sound of gravel crunching under your boots and let the sound comfort you. You knocked on the front door then stepped back to wait for someone to open it. It didn’t take long before a sweet older lady opened the door and ushered you inside. You thanked her with a smile and began your search for Y/N; your eyes roamed around the different faces in the room, but you couldn’t find hers. Your heart sank with anxiety that something had happened to her and you felt your breath hitch in your chest. “W-where’s Y/N?” you asked, panic making your stutter make an appearance. “She’s in her room right now, would you like to see her there?” The older lady asked with a kind smile and you nodded; you had to make sure she was okay. She led you to Y/N’s room and knocked gently on the door, it opened just a little and you saw Y/N’s face peeking through the crack.

“Hey, it’s me…” You greeted with a soft smile and she opened the door and motions for you to come in. The older lady excused herself and you stepped inside Y/N’s room. It was full of stuffed animals and different Halloween type decorations, most of the stuff in her room was black. You hummed in thought as you looked around then looked back to Y/N. “Is it okay that I’m in here?” You asked with a furrowed brow, you’d never been in her room before, you usually hung out in the common area. She smiled and nodded, you swore you saw a small blush creeping up on her cheeks and your heart thudded in your chest. You felt like a teenage boy visiting his crush’s room for the first time and it threw you for a loop. You cleared your throat and sat down in a plush chair she had in the corner of the room and made yourself comfortable.

She closed the door and sat cross legged on her bed facing you and tilted her head eyeing you curiously. You raised an eyebrow and smirked at her “Hey princess, take a picture it lasts longer.” You teased and she rolled her eyes at you but grinned one of the biggest grins you’d ever seen on her face and pulls out her phone. You made a stupid face and heard the camera sound coming from her phone. You knew immediately that was going to be your new contact photo and you were completely okay with that. “If we’re doing that, I get to take a picture of you.” She shook her head but kept smiling as you pulled out your phone. “Too late~.” You smirked and snapped a picture right as you locked eyes with her. There was something in her eyes you couldn’t place but it made your heart hurt a little bit and you weren’t sure why. The picture was the most beautiful picture you had of her, so you immediately made it her contact photo, because obviously the best one had to be used. “You’re beautiful, y’know?” you murmured without really thinking and looked up to meet her eyes again. She shook her head and averted her eyes quickly, her demeanor quickly changing from open and happy to closed-off and guarded. You immediately regretted saying that out loud, but you definitely weren’t going to take it back.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable. I just think you’re a beautiful young woman who doesn’t get told that she’s beautiful and doesn’t think that she’s beautiful.” You spoke softly and she looked back to you and shrugged pulling her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “You think I’m lying to you?” You asked and furrowed your brows in concern. She nodded and sniffled biting down on her bottom lip and closed her eyes tightly trying to keep tears from falling. You sighed softly and stood up moving to sit with her on her bed. She shifted to give you room but kept looking away from you. You gently used two fingers under her chin to turn her face back to you and thumbed away the tears that had fallen onto her cheeks. “I’d never lie about something like that. I don’t call just anyone beautiful.” You chuckled and slowly let your hand move away from her face to not overstimulate her. You heard her take a deep breath and she nodded again and gave you a watery smile. You knew this girl was a lot of emotional baggage, and that it wasn’t going to be easy to get her to completely trust you, but god damn did you want her to trust you. You wanted her to be able to rely on you and talk to you and trust you.

She typed something out on her phone and a second later you felt your phone buzz in your hand. “ _Diego, you’re beautiful too.”_ You blinked a few times after you read her message and you felt your cheeks heat up a little bit, but you smirked arrogantly “Oh yeah baby, I know I am. Thank you for the complement.” You winked playfully at her and she snorted out a laugh and leaned against you resting her head on your shoulder, something she’d never done before. You felt your heart thudding in your chest from the closeness of her body, but you willed it to slow down before it gave you away. Again, you felt like a schoolboy hanging out with his crush and the thought was very irritating because you were a fully grown man. You shifted a little and put your arm around her shoulders and pulled her more securely against you, you heard her give a soft sigh and she basically melted against you, burying her face against your chest and closing her eyes. You let the silence engulf you and closed your eyes as well. All you could hear was the sounds of your breathing, and your own heartbeat racing away in your chest, you hoped she couldn’t hear how fast it was, it’d definitely give you away.

You realized in that moment that you were falling for the girl, no woman, who was curled safely against you, and suddenly nothing else mattered other than keeping her safe and cared for. You were royally fucked, because you knew that no matter how you felt things had to go slow. She’d never had a real relationship; she wasn’t able to connect with other people the way normal people would. The last thing you wanted to do was force your feelings on her, you wanted to make sure it was the real thing before going any further, so for now you’d make due with the fact she was comfortable enough around you to let you hold her. You heard a soft noise that brought you back to reality, she had fallen asleep against you and she apparently snores in her sleep. You chuckled silently to yourself, trying not to move so you wouldn’t wake her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with your free hand.

Yep, definitely royally fucked, damn it. You decided to risk shifting so that you were both laying down, which was a feat given the small twin mattress she had but you managed to gently get into a comfortable laying position, her head resting on your chest as a pillow. She moved in her sleep and basically draped herself over you, her legs tangling with yours and you willed yourself to not pop a god damn boner because now was not the time for that and you didn’t feel like laying there being uncomfortable. Your willpower payed off and you were able to get comfortable with her and gently trailed your fingers up and down her back mindlessly just enjoying being with her. Soon the sounds of her soft breathing had lulled you off to sleep and you slept better than you had since you don’t remember when.

You were woken up by the sweet older lady from earlier coming to check on you and Y/N. Y/N groaned softly in her sleep and clung tighter to you and you looked helplessly at the older lady who just gave you an indulgent smile and closed the door again. You didn’t know how long Y/N was going to sleep, but like hell were you going to wake her up. You were however going to take a picture of her cuddled up against you. You smirked to yourself and managed to get your phone to camera with one hand and snap a picture, her hair was a mess, her make-up was smudged, but she was still the most beautiful person you’d ever seen. Being around her made the whole room lighter, even when she was having a bad day, she was still your ray of sunshine on a rainy day. It hurt a little bit that you couldn’t tell her any of this, but you’d take what you could get for now. You didn’t even feel like this about Eudora and she was someone you loved dearly and would do anything for. You didn’t know what it was about Y/N that made you feel this way, but…you weren’t sure you wanted to complain about it.

It was probably half an hour before Y/N woke up blinking wearily and you heard her breath hitch. You froze immediately scared that she was going to freak out on you. “Hey it’s alright, you fell asleep, I didn’t want you to get sore so I got us comfortable…” You spoke softly and smoothed your hands down her arms soothingly. She nodded with a shaky breath and sighed. She signed the word ‘sorry’ and you shook your head. “Don’t you apologize.” You grinned crookedly and helped her sit up and get reoriented. “Should I have gotten you tucked in and left or sat in the corner chair?” You asked softly and she shook her head. “Okay…I’m glad I stayed then.” You had no idea what you were getting yourself into, you had to be so careful with her, she was fragile, and you didn’t want to push her over the edge. She smiled softly and signed ‘thank you’ and you chuckled. “Sign language huh? You’re welcome.” She lightly punched you in the arm and grinned, so you ruffled her already messy hair which made her pout at you. “You’re cute when you pout, princess.” The words spilled out of your mouth before you could stop them, and you saw the blush on her cheeks immediately.

You couldn’t help but wonder if on some level she felt the same way about you as you did about her, but you weren’t a mind reader and you weren’t going to push your luck with her. You were here to be her guardian angel, someone she can talk to, someone she can rely on, that didn’t mean you had to be her boyfriend. If she confesses to you, that’s when you’ll tell her how you feel, but you definitely don’t feel like you should be the first one to bring it up. Even if she does bring it up, there’s still a lot of bumps in the road and obstacles to cross if you want to be together. You know it would be a lot of work, but you’re willing to put in the work when the time comes. You felt lips on your cheek and you grin a little, your heart doing maddening flips in your chest. You look over to Y/N who’s pretending she didn’t just kiss your cheek and roll your eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that.” You teased and she just batted her eyelashes at you innocently. There was a knock on the door and she jumped up to get it, it was the older lady again. “Sorry dear, but visiting hours are over.” She glanced over to you with a sympathetic smile and you nodded. “Alright, Y/N, I’ll see you when I have time to come again. Text me if you need anything, okay?” You spoke softly and Y/N nodded sadly and gave you a hug. You hugged back and lingered a little longer than you probably should have before pulling away and giving her a smile. “I’ll be back, I promise.” You tapped her nose with your index finger and headed back out to your car. ‘ _Well, that was an interesting visit…_ ’ you couldn’t help but think to yourself as you started your car and drove yourself back to the gym you lived at to get ready to patrol for the night.


	3. Triggers.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for the feels trip in this chapter. Diego’s gonna be a mess and Y/N is also going to be a mess. Strap in folx. <3 x-o-x-o Sorry not sorry. (Diego’s P-O-V again)

Chapter 3: Triggers.

It was 3 A.M. and you were just about to finish your patrol and go home when your phone went off. You read the message that was sent and immediately went into panic mode. _“diego icant doit anymore imsorrt”_ you quickly hit the call button and were sent straight to voicemail. You called again and got sent right to voicemail again. She must have turned off her phone; what the hell is she doing? You dialed the main number for the group home and were greeted by the familiar voice of the sweet older lady that lived there with them. “This is Diego Hargreeves, I just got a text from Y/N and I’m extremely worried. Please check on her.” You spoke quickly trying to keep the panic out of your voice. The line went quiet for a moment before she came back on the line. “Um Mr. Hargreeves I need to hang up to call 911.” She spoke calmly and your heart dropped out of your chest. “Tell me what hospital.” Your voice cracked and she quickly told you the hospital nearest that would be taking her. The call dropped after that and you rushed back to where your car was and peeled out rushing to the hospital pulling off your harness covered in knives because you knew you wouldn’t be able to go in with them.

You ran into the ER and came up to the front desk. “Y/N, is she here? Is she o-o-kay? What’s going o-on? My n-name is D-diego H-hargreeves” You stammered trying to get everything out and tried to steady your breathing as you leaned on the desk. Your heart was pounding out of your chest and you probably looked like a crazy person. “I’m sorry sir but I can’t tell you anything right now. If you’d like to wait, you’re more than welcome to take a seat and I’ll let you know what’s going on when I can.” You slammed your fist against the wall and stalked off away from her before she called security. You slid down with your back against the wall and rested your arms on your knees. You couldn’t believe this could be happening to you again. You lost Eudora to those creeps in the kid’s masks and now you might be losing Y/N too? You took in a shuddering breath and held your face in your hands.

Time seemed to stop and the sound of the clock on the wall was deafeningly loud as time slowly ticked forward. You didn’t move from your crouched position against the wall and ignored everyone who tried to talk to you since they weren’t the nurse or triage person. The muscle in your jaw was working harder with every passing moment as you ground your teeth together in worry. It felt like an eternity before you felt a hand gently being placed on your shoulder and jerked away from it. “Sir? Y/N is awake and asking for you. All she’ll say is your name, Diego.” You blinked up at the lady and nodded before shakily getting to your feet and swallowing nervously. You followed her through the doors that lead back to the patients. She let you into a room that had dimmed lights and you sat down softly on the edge of the bed. “Hey y-you…” You stuttered and took one of Y/N’s small hands in both of yours. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave you the sweetest smile and she tried to sit up, but you pushed her back down and shook your head. “Stay down soldier.”

“She’s going to have to be held for 72 hours for a psych hold, Mr. Hargreeves.” The nurse said quietly, and you nodded but didn’t move. “Y/N, d-don’t think that them holding you here is getting you off the hook for trying to l-leave me like t-that.” Your voice broke a little and you stuttered. She looked away and a tear ran down her cheek. You thumbed the tear away and shook your head. “I’m n-not m-mad…” You reassured her with a small smile, and she leaned her cheek into your hand gently. You sighed softly and rubbed soft circles on her cheek with your thumb and she closed her eyes. She looked so small and breakable laying in the hospital bed, and you felt helpless just by looking at her. You didn’t know what to do to help her, she had been making progress and was becoming more expressive. You knew that they would have to take her away from you and your heart was shattering from the thought of leaving her in the state she was in right now. “You l-listen to me, you’re gonna get better and then come back to m-me, okay?” You rested your forehead against hers and felt her nod softly.

The nurse set her hand on your shoulder and you pulled away from Y/N with a soft sigh. “It’s time for her to be taken up to psych…” the nurse whispered, and you nodded letting go of Y/N’s hand stepping away from the bed. She whined and reached back out for you which tore your heart to pieces. “You g-gotta go, princess. I’ll be here when you’re able to go h-home.” You made a solid effort to not stumble on your words but failed in the end. You watched as they wheeled the bed out of the room and took her away, you felt strangely empty inside and you just stood there in the middle of the now empty room for a moment before gathering your thoughts and leaving the hospital all together since she wasn’t allowed visitors.

The next three days were agonizing, you kept waiting on the call that she was being discharged, especially on day three when she was supposed to get released. You stared at your phone just willing it to ring so that you could have some peace of mind you had actually ended up deep cleaning the room you stay in while you waited, you hadn’t gone on patrol since that night, you wanted to make sure you stayed available in case you were needed at the hospital. You sighed and went out to the empty gym; it was late afternoon, so it was closed to the public. You hung up one of the punching bags and wrapped your hands before pushing the bag into a swinging motion before landing a few punches on it. This led into a flurry of punches and a scream of frustration. You knocked the bag off the hook you had hung it on, and sand went everywhere as the bag burst open. “FUCK!” You yelled and kicked the now almost empty bag and sighed pinching the bridge of your nose. Great, now you had a huge mess to clean up on top of everything else and you’d have to pay Al back for the broken punching bag. Exactly what you needed right now.

You grabbed the broom and dustpan and started sweeping up the mess you made cursing under your breath. It didn’t take long before you were finished and had gotten it all thrown away in a large trash bag. You lugged it out back and tossed it in the dumpster out back and you heard your ring tone and pulled out your phone from your pocket. “Hello?” You answered tiredly holding the phone up to your ear. “Diego Hargreeves?” The person on the phone asked. “Yes, that’s me.” You answered a bit of anxiety lacing your voice “Y/N is ready to be picked up, she’s waiting for you.” The voice was nice and warm which was reassuring. “I’ll be right there.” You hung up and rushed out to your car, not even bothering to put your seatbelt on and sped off to the hospital. You need to see her, you needed to know she was okay. The ride there seemed to take forever but when you finally pulled into the parking lot you saw her sitting in a wheelchair right inside the front doors. The nurse wheeled her out when you parked in front of the door and you quickly got out of your car and helped her stand up.

She wrapped her arms around you and melted against you giving you a hug. You let out a shaky breath and buried your nose into her hair. “God…I was so scared.” You whispered and she balled her hands into your shirt her shoulders shaking a little bit. The nurse had left you there and you were grateful for that, you wanted to have a moment with her alone. “I’m s-s-sorry…” You heard a very soft whisper and you pulled back a little and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to apologize to me, princess.” You weren’t sure why you had started calling her that, but it fit, and she didn’t seem to mind so you decided to keep it. She gave you a crooked smile and you chuckled. “Ready to go home?” you asked, and she nodded. You opened the passenger door for her and helped her get in once she actually let go of you and you went over to the driver side and got in. “Seat belt.” You reminded her and she clicked it into place, and you followed suit with yours. “Good girl.” You praised with a smile and you saw a blush creep up on her face, but you pretended you didn’t notice.

You pulled away from the hospital and let it fade into the distance. The ride back to the group home to drop her off was silent but comfortable. You had calmed down tremendously after you had seen her and held her in your arms. It didn’t take long to get her back home and you sighed as you put the car in park and turned the ignition off. You got out and walked around to her side and helped her out of the car. “Should I stay tonight if they let me?” You asked softly as she clung to your arm while you walked her to the house. She nodded softly and chewed on her bottom lip; you couldn’t believe how small she looked. Had she lost weight? Was she eating? You suppressed a groan of concern and guided her inside. “Alright, I’ll ask if I can stay…” You assured her and she smiled softly with another nod. You came up to the familiar sweet lady that helped run the group home and asked her if you were allowed to stay. She thought for a moment before agreeing to let you stay. “She’s lucky to have you as a boyfriend.” The lady beamed and you cleared your throat before speaking. “U-um…yeah.” You didn’t have the heart to deny it at this point and you guided Y/N to her room.

Once you were in her room you shut the door behind you and she flopped down on her bed with a groan kicking off her shoes and rolling onto her back. You sat down next to her on the bed and she sat up to face you and you raised an eyebrow. “Got something to say, princess?” You smirked at her and she shook her head and leaned closer to you, her eyes focusing on your lips. You swallowed nervously and furrowed your eyebrows, you could let her kiss you, but that could lead to issues. She pulled away at the last moment and kissed your cheek and smiled at you. Your heart thudded in your chest and you let out a soft breath. You were slightly disappointed, but you knew it was for the best. You knew that logically you shouldn’t be with her romantically given that you had saved her when she was younger, but you couldn’t help but feel inexplicably drawn to her. “You should rest, Y/N…” You mutter and sort of pull her against you and leaned back, she liked sleeping with the lights on, so you didn’t bother turning them off. She willingly curled up against you as you laid back and closed her eyes, not putting up any fight with you. You sighed softly and smoothed your hand over her hair and rubbed circles on her back until her breathing slowed and you heard her soft snoring. You were going to have tough luck trying to let her out of your sight, you needed to know she was okay at all times.

You laid there awake as she slept peacefully in your arms, you didn’t know what had caused her to try to overdose with her pills, but it was something you’d talk to her about when she woke up. If she didn’t want to tell you, you weren’t going to make her, sometimes it was best to leave that alone. All you could do is continue to be there for her and support her through her recovery. She was definitely showing promise in getting better, she’d spoken a few times and although she clung to you, she seemed to be more open than she was when you first met her again. You couldn’t believe this little thing could have such a strong hold over your heart and not even know that she did. You wrapped your arms more securely around her and closed your eyes, maybe it wouldn’t hurt for you to get some sleep too. Soon enough you felt the stress and anxiety melt away and the darkness claimed your mind and body.


	4. His Feelings?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have calmed down, less feels in this one. Diego spends more time around Y/N, she decides to test his will power and boundaries. Diego ends up spilling his feelings for her, as if they weren’t obvious enough as it is. (Y/N’s P.O.V.)

Chapter 4: His feelings?

You pursed your lips watching Diego as he scrolled on his phone sitting in the chair that was in the corner of your room. You nodded resolutely to yourself before rolling to your feet from your bed and plopping yourself gently in his lap. He let you do pretty much whatever you wanted as far as being close to him, but he still hadn’t kissed you and you weren’t having it. You lightly pulled the phone out of his hand as he was distracted by you and grinned at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes at you, but a soft smile played on his face. “What are you doing, Y/N?” He asked and you shrugged innocently and smiled sweetly at him. You head a soft groan come from his throat and knew that your plan was working. “Someone’s in a good mood today,” He noted, and you giggled with another nod and rested your head on his shoulder snuggling into him.

He wrapped his arms around you and rested his chin on your head, it was rare that he didn’t accept her snuggles and affection. She was falling for him, dangerously so, and it scared her, but then again, most things did so she was going to take this good thing as far as she could. She typed something on her phone and showed it to Diego and he coughed. “E-excuse me?” He stammered and she raised both her eyebrows and smirked at him. He shook his head and shifted uncomfortably beneath her which made her giggle. “I do not…” He protested and you saw the blush creep onto his face as he scooped you up and set you back onto your bed.

“Nnnhh!!” You protested and grabbed onto him as he tried to walk away and frowned at him. He looked back at you and you sniffled quietly, eyes watering a little. He sighed and sat down next to you and set his hand over yours gently. “Look, I can’t do that with you, you know that…” His voice was tight as he spoke, and you furrowed your eyebrows. You motioned to yourself then to him them back to yourself. “Why am I here all the time? Because I care about you and I want to make sure you’re okay. I almost lost you once I’m not letting it happen again.” He stated resolutely but had a tinge of sadness in his voice. You huffed and scooted yourself back into his lap and frowned at him, eyes locking. “I-I-I…” You stammered and took a deep breath. “Picture the word, Y/N…” He urged softly just like Grace had done for him and you gulped before trying to talk again. “I-I..w-w-want…”

“What do you want, Y/N?” He asked gently, knowing deep down what the answer was and tried to muster the will power to stop you but ultimately failed. “K-k-kiss m-m-me…?” You asked almost inaudibly, and Diego groaned internally but he couldn’t say no to you. He swallowed hard and licked his lips nervously before softly pressing his lips to yours and cupping your cheek gently. You felt your heart speed up and almost couldn’t believe this was happening. It had been almost six months since he first started visiting you, and it took him this long to kiss you. You sighed blissfully against his plump lips and swiped your tongue against them, he gave you access to his mouth and you swiped your tongue over his and he moaned softly as you pulled away. “Shit…” He muttered and looked away from you.

You frowned and softly touched his face to get him to look at you. “S-sorry...” You stuttered out and he shook his head. “No no no… don’t apologize. I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a while now…” He admitted and chewed on his bottom lip. “I just didn’t think it was a good idea…but I can’t say no to you.” He sighed again and you shook your head and eagerly pressed your lips against his again to make him shut up. There wasn’t anything in the world you wanted more in the world than to have his lips against yours and you weren’t going to let is hesitation ruin that. He hummed softly against your lips and returned the kiss, taking control of this kiss this time and slowly pressing his tongue into your mouth. You made a soft nose and let him have access to your mouth running your hands through his short hair. You rolled your hips against his and moaned quietly at the friction between the two of you. He gripped your hips and held you still, his breath hitching in his throat. You slowly opened your eyes to look at him and his expression was slightly pained.

You cleared your throat and tilted your head in a silent question to him. “If you keep going…I won’t have much self-control…” He spoke through gritted teeth and you squeaked a little and got off of his lap. You didn’t want him to be in pain, but you weren’t ready to get physical with him. You just wanted to kiss him…

You sighed and pulled your knees up to your chest; you were uncomfortable because that kiss had definitely turned you on, but you didn’t want to actually have sex with Diego yet. You could tell he was also turned on if the half bulge in his tight pants had anything to say about it. You felt bad because you knew guys didn’t like being left like that. You looked at him apologetically and gave him an awkward half smile. He shook his head with an understanding smile. “Hey, I let it happen, I wanted to taste your lips and feel you against me, you’re allowed to say no or stop at any point. Hell, even if we had gotten any further, if you wanted me to stop, I would immediately.” He spoke gently and you nodded feeling grateful that he was so understanding of your situation. The only other boyfriend you had wasn’t so understanding…you shuddered at the thought and pushed it down to never think about again. He noticed your shudder and raised an eyebrow at you and you just shook your head. It wasn’t something you needed or wanted to get into right now.

“Well…I guess now is as a good time as any to talk, right?” He asked and you gave him a confused expression. He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head looking away from you for a moment before looking back over to you. “I don’t know if its obvious, but…I love you, Y/N. If I had lost you it would’ve been like losing a piece of myself…” He admitted softly and your breath hitched a little bit listening to him talk. You swallowed anxiously and chewed on your bottom lip debating on if you wanted to talk out loud or not. “I love you too…D-diego…” You spoke more clearly than you had in a long time and he looked shocked and proud at the same time. “That’s my girl!” He praised and you smiled brightly at him before leaning against him resting your head against his shoulder. Now that that was all out in the open, maybe he wouldn’t hold back with you as much now, or so you hoped.


	5. Flashbacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a sweet chapter, we meet Vanya, Diego gets a little pissed off but of course is soft when Y/N gets stressed out. ALSO TW: Trauma, abuse, torture.
> 
> Skip the first couple of paragraphs if that makes you uncomfortable or could trigger you.

Chapter 5: Flashbacks

You screamed and tried your best to fight the strange man off. He was so much stronger than you and you were too small and weak for the fighting to do any good. He put all his weight onto your forearm and you heard the sickening snap and almost vomited from the wave of pain it sent through your body, yet another scream ripping from your already thrashed throat. You sobbed and begged him to stop, choking through the tears streaming down your face. In return he drove a knife into the soft part of your thigh being careful to avoid any major vessels so you’d stay alive. It wouldn’t do much good if you weren’t alive; he liked to play with you. Your blood curdling screams pierced the room and he just laughed; he enjoyed your pain. That day you made a decision to never make a sound, no matter what he did to you. You’d stop fighting, you’d give up, you were broken.

You just closed your eyes and let your tears flow silently as you felt him violate your body over and over, until he had enough and left the room. He did things to you that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. You just wanted him to kill you and end your suffering but you knew it wouldn’t happen. You were no good to him dead, but you were as good as dead. You felt like nothing but an empty shell, there was nothing left of the 15 year old bubbly happy girl that you knew. Your hair was dirty and starting to mat, you were covered in blood and filth, you stunk, badly, and you wished he would at least dunk you in water. Maybe you’d drown yourself in the process, not that he would let you. You curled up on the dirty mattress he left for you and tried to get a little bit of sleep. You were closer to falling asleep when you heard the footsteps and felt the familiar callused hands grabbing you and forcing you to your feet. The abuse was about to begin all over again, you felt the tears already gathering in your eyes at the thought.

“Y/N! Y/N!” You heard in the distance and jerked awake. You choked back a sob and gripped Diego’s shirt with both hands. You pulled yourself as close to him as you could and hid your face in his chest. “You’re safe…” he whispered calmly and rubbed your back gently. “it was just a nightmare.” He added and you nodded at him. You knew it was a nightmare but it felt so real to you. It was very much like being back in that situation. You didn’t know what to do, you felt so alone and helpless. You could feel your entire body shaking against him and he pulled you tighter against his body. Your tears soaked his shirt but he didn’t care, he just wanted to make sure you felt safe and secure. 

“He can’t get you here, he’s still locked up and will be for the rest of his life.” Diego reminded and you sniffled in response. He continued to rub gentle circles on your back and your breathing evened out and you were able to calm down. You didn’t know what you’d do without Diego; he’d been with you almost every night since you had been released from the hospital, this was the first night you had a bad nightmare since then. He helped you feel safe, you knew deep down he would never let anything happen to you. “I love you…” you whispered softly quietly. Diego was still the only person you speak out loud to. “I love you too, baby.” He whispered back and kissed the top of your head and gave you a loving squeeze. Slowly you drifted back into an uneasy sleep, but Diego stayed awake, just in case he needed to wake you up again, he hated that you had nightmares and wished he could take them away.

You woke up to the smell of food and the feeling of an empty bed, you groaned as you stretched out and filled up the bed happily. “Hey sleepyhead, good morning~.” Diego called from the doorway holding a plate of food. Your stomach gurgled as you opened one eye and looked at him. “Mmn” you greeted in return and sat up sleepily rubbing your eyes. You held out your hands for the plate and he handed it to you, happy to see you actually had an appetite, you hadn’t been able to eat much the last few days and that worried him. “I hope I got you something you like to eat…I wasn’t sure what to get.” He admitted and rubbed the back of his head nervously. You smiled and shook your head before beginning to tuck into your food. You weren’t the biggest fan of eggs, but these were light and fluffy scrambled eggs with bacon and a perfectly toasted piece of toast with the sweetest peaches you’d ever had. It didn’t take long for you to finish eating and you handed him your plate when you were done. 

“Sometimes I feel like a glorified nanny rather than your boyfriend.” He teased and you giggled and stuck your tongue out at him. With him you were able to act a little younger than you were, sometimes you actually age regressed back to before your trauma, even though you still didn’t speak. He was patient with you and went along with it without judgement. He had nothing but love for you and you were so grateful for him. Those were the times you just wanted to sit in his lap and lay against him and just be in contact with him in some way. Those were the neediest days, and the toughest because they were also the easiest to slip into your flashbacks and have panic attacks. He kissed you gently and grinned before leaving your room to take the plate to the kitchen and returning to you.

You stood up and stretched, not wanting to change out of your pajamas because they were cute and comfortable. You wandered out into the common area and sat down with one of the people who you’d seen around a couple of times. She also didn’t seem to talk much and was always on her own. “H-Hi.” You greeted, feeling bold enough to speak to someone other than Diego. She looked up and raised an eyebrow at you pursing her lips before speaking. “Hi.” She greeted quietly and smiled a little. “You’ve been here awhile?” she asked curiously and you nodded in response. “a-almost a y-year.” You stuttered and looked down at your hands. Maybe this was a bad idea, but if you didn’t try you wouldn’t get anywhere. “I-I’m y/n…” you introduced yourself with a small smile.

“I’m Vanya. I’m here to observe and help the people who live here, I know what it’s like to go through trauma and…I volunteer to try to help others through it.” She introduced herself in return and explained why she was there. You furrowed your brows in thought then your eyes went wide. Diego had mentioned a Vanya, she wrote a book about their family and it really pissed him off. “L-like the a-author?” you asked softly and chewed on your bottom lip. As if on cue you heard Diego’s voice. “What the hell are *you* doing here?” He bit out, acid dripping from his voice and you shrunk down in your chair, not liking the energy he was putting out. Vanya seemed nice, you understood why Diego was upset but, you kind of liked Vanya and understood her side of the story. 

Vanya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before speaking to Diego. “Look, I’m sorry the book hurt your feelings, but the world needed to know. Besides, it’s not like it was fair the way you guys treated me.” She bit back and you whimpered trying to fold into yourself even more. “S-stop…” you whispered, and Diego’s eyes locked on you immediately and his stance softened. Vanya also relaxed a little and looked at you apologetically. Diego cleared his throat and sighed. “You were able to talk to her?” he asked you pointedly and jerks his head towards Vanya. You nodded in response and give him a small smile which he returns. “That’s really good. I’m proud of you, Y/N.” His voice was soft, all hints of anger were gone. 

He turned back to Vanya before speaking again. “I’ll forgive you, if you keep coming around here to work with everyone here.” He gave her a grin and she chuckled a little then nodded. “Deal, maybe I can get to know your girlfriend better.” She teased and his cheeks colored a little. “That obvious huh…?” he muttered and she snorted “Oh yeah, we only saw you like that with one other person.” She shrugged and he swore under his breath and shook his head. He was an open book for those who knew him. “H-hey V-vanya?” you spoke up and she looked over to you. “Mhm?” she tilted her head curiously and you swallowed nervously. 

“Can you c-come back t-tomorrow?” you asked, stuttering a little less as you went. She chuckled and put her hand over yours gently. “Of course. I’d love to. I want to get to know you better.” She answered and you smiled brightly at her, excited of the prospect of getting to know Diego’s sister, and the possibility of a new friend. Life was looking up for once, and you were gonna take full advantage of that fact. Vanya seemed very nice, if not pretty soft spoken, unless it came to Diego who she didn’t hesitate to give a piece of her mind when he started in on her. You loved Diego, but if her book held any truth, he hurt her just like the rest of their siblings did and she has every right to be upset with him. “I w-want to get to know you b-better too.” You replied softly, something about her just felt safe, maybe it was because she was Diego’s sister, but even before you knew who she was, you wanted to talk to her.

“Hey I’m still here you two.” Diego sulked, slumping down into a chair dramatically causing you to giggle and poke his side with your index finger. Vanya raised an eyebrow watching the two of you as he grabbed your hand and gave your knuckles a soft kiss. “Whoa, Y/N, he’s a puppy. You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.” She teased and he threw a pillow at her which she neatly dodged which means he didn’t even try to aim, or use his powers. “Shut up, Vanya” he half-heartedly snarked but smirked and kissed your cheek. “I’m here by choice.” He added and Vanya just shrugged. 

“I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing, you obviously love her.” Vanya waved her hand dismissively and smiled at him. “No judgment here.” She added and you leaned your head against Diego’s shoulder lazily and humming happily. Vanya smiled at the two of you “You bring out his soft side, Y/N.” She hummed and you chuckled a little. “I can be soft if I want to. Don’t have to be tough all the time.” He grumbled and you kissed his cheek. You definitely liked Vanya and could see yourself being good friends with her. You were looking forward to the future, not something you do often.


	6. It's Always Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even going to write a summary, but I will trigger warn for illness and mention of cancer. 
> 
> This is gonna be sad but sweet.
> 
> Also this story is a little time-skippy which is why I threw in the flashbacks.

Chapter 6: It’s Always Something

You tried to catch your breath and stop your coughing by taking deep breaths. Diego rubbed circles on your back gently and you leaned against him. “Fuck you’re burning up…” He swore quietly and he scooped you up and took you out to his car. He gently sat you in the back seat and got you buckled in, you tiredly reached out for him, not waiting to let him go. He kissed your forehead gently and pulled away before shutting the door and running to the driver’s side door and jumping in. You had been spending time outside the group home at Diego’s little room in the gym lately so he didn’t have to worry about clearing taking you out with the directors.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly and peeled out of his parking spot, speeding off towards the hospital. He didn’t know what was wrong with you, and you kept coughing, along with running a high fever. He skidded to a stop at the drop off and got you out of the back of his car and carried you inside. You were barely conscious at this point and were barely breathing. The staff quickly took you from him and got you onto a gurney and took back for assessment and treatment after you told them what was going on.

Diego tried to run with you but was told he wasn’t allowed to follow and they would update him when they could. His world was spiraling out of control, he was starting to hyperventilate and his vision was going blurry. A hand touched his forearm and guided him to a chair. “Hey, take a deep breath…” the voice spoke softly in a British drawl and he did what he was told. His vision slowly came back into focus and he looked at the person sitting beside of him. She was small and had beautiful brown skin and deep set eyes lined with thick black eyelashes. 

“What’s your name?” She asked him softly and he took a deep breath before speaking “D-Diego…” He stuttered and exhaled shakily “W-what’s yours?” he asked, wanting to take his mind off of everything, maybe talking to her would help. “Lila, my name’s Lila.” She grinned a little and held out her hand. He took her hand and shook it and gave her a small smile before dropping her hand.

“Was that your girlfriend you brought in?” She asked and he nodded, sinking further into his seat. “Yeah…well fiancée, I don’t know what’s wrong. She just got really sick out of nowhere…” He trailed off and looked down at the floor going silent. She patted his arm sympathetically and he gave her a weak grin. “Just have to believe everything will be okay.” He added and she nodded in agreement. “I believe she’ll be fine.” Lila reassured him and he took another shaky breath. “Thank you, I really appreciate you talking to me.” He mumbled and chewed on his bottom lip very similar to how you did when you were anxious.

A nurse came through and motioned for him to follow her, he got up and Lila gave your forearm a squeeze before letting you go with the nurse. You glanced back at her shortly before focusing on the more important thing, you. The nurse took him to your room and he saw her unconscious in the bed. His heart dropped seeing her looking so small and fragile, just like the last time. Was he actually going to lose her this time? What was going on? He looked to the doctor who was reading something on a chart with furrowed eyebrows. That was never a good sign and he knew it. The doctor was a sort of heavy set man with glasses who had a kind aura around him.

After a moment the doctor looked up at Diego with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you family?” The doctor asked and Diego shook his head. “No…but I’m her boyfriend. What’s going on?” He asked, trying not to snap at the doctor. “We can’t be for sure, but her lungs are in bad shape…” the doctor spoke cautiously. “We might have to put her on a ventilator if she doesn’t start improving soon.” Those words rang hollow in his ears and his mouth went dry. He took another deep breath and nodded letting the information sink in. He didn’t want to lose Y/N, he hadn’t cared about someone as much as he cared about you. 

“W-when you say her lungs are bad, what d-do you mean by t-that?” Diego stuttered and the doctor frowned a little more. “It looks like she might have tumors in her lungs from exposure to some sort of carcinogen. They look like they’ve been growing for a while and I’m surprised she hadn’t come in sooner.” Diego frowned in thought, his brows knitting together and the muscle in his jaw was twitching. “Carcinogen, that means cancer?” He asked; his voice cracking with emotion. The doctor nodded in confirmation and Diego sunk down into a chair beside your bed. “Shit…” he swore under his breath and buried his face in his hands. 

“We need to do a biopsy, but we need someone to consent and she’s unconscious.” The doctor walked over to Diego with the clipboard he was holding and helped it out to him. Diego lifted his head and read over the paper then quickly signed it. “I’m her emergency medical power of attorney.” Diego muttered and gave the doctor a tight lipped smile and handed him back the clipboard. The doctor nodded as he read the paper and picked up the phone that was on the wall. “Prep OR 1 for a lung biopsy for Dr. Hazel.” He spoke clearly and urgently into the phone. 

It didn’t take long for the attendants to come in and take you away. They led him to the room they would be taking you to after the procedure. He sat heavily down into the chair and rested his elbows on his thighs and put his chin on his palms. He closed his eyes and let himself get lost in his thoughts and memories.

**********************************************

  
“Hey, Diego?” You murmured, kissing up and down his neck affectionately and snuggling up against him. “Mmn yeah?” he asked and pulled you closer and hummed contently. “I love you.” You smiled against his skin and he chuckled. “I love you too, Y/N.” He answered and kissed the top of your head. It was moments like this that made him happy with his life. He didn’t need sex, although if you wanted to he definitely wouldn’t say no, but he knew that you weren’t ready for that and would never pressure you into it.

He was happy that you weren’t afraid to talk to him now, and you could be a chatter box sometimes but he could listen to you talk for hours without complaining. You eventually opened up more about the abuse you went through and it broke his heart when you talked about it. 

You drew little hearts with your finger, lightly trialing the tip of your index finger along his bare chest as he trailed his fingers lightly up and down your back. “I’m grateful for you…” you whispered and he gave you a loving squeeze. “Not as grateful as I am for you. I didn’t know I could feel like…*this*” he emphasized the last word and you smiled and softly pressed your lips to his before pulling away.

“I didn’t know I could feel like this either, I’m happy. I have a future to look forward to now.” You chuckled and nestled your head between his neck and shoulder, humming contently. The thought of losing him scared you, but he wasn’t going anywhere, you had him wrapped around your finger, and he had you wrapped around his. “I just hope you’re in it…” you added quietly and you could almost feel the eye roll which made you smile.

“Dumbass you’re stuck with me.” He reassured you and kissed your forehead then both cheeks before softly pressing a kiss to your lips. He was so wrapped up in you that he was almost like a different person when you were around.

**********************************************

  
“Diego!” You squealed as he scooped you up bridal style and jumped up from the bed causing you to giggle and wrap your arms around his neck. “What are you doing??” You blinked up at him curiously and had the brightest smile on your face. He smirked at you and shook his head. “Trust me, we’re going to see the best view in the city.” He assured you and you nodded excitedly.

“Okay!” You bubbled happily and nuzzled into him, very much childlike at the moment. You were pretty light so he carried you up the stairs to the roof effortlessly. He had two chairs and a cute little picnic table set up, he sat you on your feet once you made it to the roof and covered your eyes before you could see it. You froze momentarily then relaxed knowing you were safe and leaned back against him slightly. “Surprise~!” He exclaimed as he took his hands off your eyes.

“Diego…” You held your hand over your heart and smiled warmly at him. “This is so sweet and romantic; I didn’t know you were able to~.” You teased and he rolled his eyes. You were really starting to come back into your personality and Diego was talking more and more in love with you because of it. He ushered you to one of the chairs and helped you sit down before sitting in the other chair. You looked out over the roof and saw so many lights twinkling throughout the city. You weren’t too high so you couldn’t see all of them, but the view was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Y/N.” He replied with a smug grin to which you leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I have time to find out.” You reminded him and he gave you a crooked grin and smiled at you. “Yes, yes you do…” He trailed off, distracted by how pretty your smile was and how he wished you smiled more often. His mind came back into focus and he remembered why he set all of this up. He had a question for you. He cleared his throat before speaking again and you tilted your head curiously, giving him your attention. 

“I’ve been thinking…” he started and stuffed his hand into his pants pocket pulling a box out and opening it up. It was a cute, quaint, subtle, ring that shimmered in the soft light. “I want to spend my life with you, I don’t think I could feel this way about another person ever in my life…” He paused and took your hands in his, your breath hitching with emotion. “You don’t have to marry me, that’s not what I’m asking, but will you spend the rest of your life with me?” He asked with a hopeful smile, his slightly turned in front teeth making him look so cute. 

You gave him a smile in return and nodded, words failing you due to the overwhelming emotion. Someone wanted you even though you were damaged, even though being with you was a lot of work, he wanted you because, you were you. He didn’t try to change you at all, he helped you figure out how to get better. He was everything to you right now, and you did want to spend the rest of your life with him. He slid the ring onto your finger and it looked exactly right sitting on your finger. “I love you…” he murmured and pressed his lips against yours, celebrating the fact you want to spend your life with him. You cupped his face gently and then kissed both cheeks. “I love you too, Diego.” You whispered back, enjoying the tender moment between the two of you.

**********************************************

  
He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep and was dreaming by the time they wheeled you back into the room. You were hooked up to tubes and wires but they hadn’t had to ventilate you yet. He blinked warily and rubbed his eyes as the lights flickered on. He got up and went over to your side silently, not paying any mind to the doctors in the room. He took your hand in his own and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles. “Will she wake up?” he asked quietly looking up at the doctor that had talked to him earlier. “We have her sedated right now, her body was under a lot of stress so we thought it would be better to have her sleep. We will have the rest results back very soon and decide on treatment once we know what we’re dealing with.” Dr. Hazel explained and Diego nodded in understanding.

“For now, it’d be best if you got some rest, you can come back later.” Dr. Hazel said cautiously and Diego shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to be here if she takes a turn for the worse, and not have to rush back.” He replied stubbornly and Dr. Hazel nodded. “I’ll see it we have any cots.” He said and set his hand gently on Diego’s shoulder for a moment before he left, everyone else finishing their paperwork and notes before filing out behind the doctor. Diego didn’t wait for the cot, he crawled up onto the hospital bed and carefully cradled you against him, cautious to not mess with any of the tubes and wires. You were so small, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed you were sick, you were always so bubbly and energetic, looks could definitely be deceiving.

You curled up unconsciously and nestled your head against his chest, he soothingly rubbed his hand up and down your back humming a lullaby that Grace had hummed to him when he was sick as a kid. He tried to fight the tears from falling but was unsuccessful. He took his free hand and wiped his face, he had never been more afraid in his life, and he had been on many death-defying missions, which made him think back to the one where Ben was killed. Even then he wasn’t as scared as he is now. You meant more to him than his own life; and he really didn’t want to die. It’s been a little over a year since he started coming to visit you at the group home, you were in the first stages of being able to move out, you talked regularly with both Diego and Vanya, still had trouble with people you didn’t know, but you were trying your best. Diego was so so proud of you, he even offered to get an apartment and let you move in with him. 

He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep now that you were safely in his arms again. He finally fell into a restless sleep listening to the soft beeps and sounds of hospital machinery. It wasn’t long before the doctor was back and gently knocked to get Diego’s attention. Diego slowly opened his eyes and nodded to the doctor. “What’s the news, doc?” Diego asked sleepily and the doctor gave him a sympathetic look before speaking. “She’s got pretty severe lung cancer, but there’s a chance with surgery to remove the bulk of the tumors and aggressive chemotherapy, she’ll make a full recovery.” He said, sounding cautiously optimistic. Diego nodded and set his jaw in determination. “Do what you gotta do, just please save her life.” He sounded almost desperate but he didn’t care.


	7. Breaking The News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego fainted, whoops! Lila plays a bigger part in this chapter. Someone's gotta tell Diego to eat and drink, right? I have plans for later, just hang with me. Ily guys and thanks for reading.

Chapter 7: Breaking The News

You leaned back in the bed propped up by pillows. You were tired as hell and your chest was sore as fuck. “Diego…?” You whispered weakly and slowly opened your eyes. He quickly got up and grabbed your hand gently. “I’m here.” You smiled softly at him and closed your eyes again because you were so tired. “What’s going on?” You asked tiredly. He squeezed your hand and kissed your forehead. “You’re in the hospital, Y/N.” He answered and you opened your eyes again to look at him.

“Why?” You couldn’t remember how you got here or anything that had happened since you had gotten here. “What happened?” You croaked, your throat was dry from lack of use and water. You tried to take a deep breath but winced and slowly raised your hand to your chest and realized you had bandages. You looked at Diego in confusion and he gently placed his hand over yours. “You had to go through some emergency surgery, they had to take tumors out of your lungs.” He explained and your eyes went wide. “W-what? Do…do…do I have c-cancer?” You asked and he paused for a moment before nodding. You exhaled sharply and winced again in pain.

“So…how long do I have to live?” You asked jokingly and Diego glowered at you. “Sorry, sorry.” You apologized quickly and gave him a weak grin and he rolled his eyes at you. “You’re going to be fine, Y/N. They were able to get all the affected tissue, so as long as you get the radiation treatments to make sure they don’t come back…you’ll do fine.” He sounded like he was reassuring himself as much as he was reassuring you. You put your hand over his and chuckled which you immediately regretted doing. “I’m a f-fighter.” You stuttered a little, something you’d been doing good with not doing. “I’ll be f-fine!” You cursed in your own mind because you kept tripping over f’s.

He pressed a soft kiss to your lips to stop you from talking then pulled away which made you pout a little. He shook his head in amusement and kissed you again, a little fuller this time and you sighed contently against his lips. “Mmm…You had something chocolate, I can taste it.” You murmured as he pulled away again and he raised an eyebrow at you. “Damn, I did actually. I forgot I ate your pudding.” He chuckled a little and you gave him a tired crooked grin. “That’s so rude, Diego. You know chocolate pudding is my favorite.” You teased and he held his hands up in surrender. “I’ll get you as much chocolate pudding as you want when you’re out of here.” He promised and you slowly nodded, your eyes dipping closed for a couple of seconds before opening again. “’Kay…” You agreed and he smoothed your hair out of your face. “Go ahead and get some more sleep, baby. I’ll be right here.” He whispered and you let your eyes slide closed again, a soft smile lingering on your lips.

******************************************************************

You went to stand up and got a rush of dizziness and had to support yourself against the wall for a moment before catching the doctor as he was leaving Y/N’s room. “Hey wait!” You called your voice rough from dehydration and lack of eating properly. The doctor turned to you and gave you a concerned look before coming back into the room. Y/N was sedated again to help with pain and to help her sleep. “When do treatments start? How long is she going to have to be in here?” You cleared your throat halfway through your questions to be able to speak clearly.

“Sir, I suggest you go home and get some rest, and if I were you, I’d get something to drink and a warm meal.” The doctor eyed you cautiously and you stubbornly shook your head which sent another wave of dizziness swimming across your brain. “‘M fine…just answer my questions.” You muttered and rubbed your hand across your eyes trying to focus. “Treatments start whenever she’s healed up a little bit, probably within the next few days. I don’t know how long she’ll need to be here, she’s quite weak, she’s lucky you brought her in.” He smiled warmly at you and you gave a tight-lipped smile back.

Your vision was swimming and you could hear your ears ringing, you were about to pass out. “Um…don’t take me out of here please… but I think I’m about to pass out.” You managed to get out as you saw an IV needle being unpackaged and your eyes rolled into the back of your head and you went down like a brick. The doctor caught you with a sigh and got you onto a gurney and took you to a separate room.

The first thing you hear is the tinny ringing in your ears as you slowly open your eyes against a major headache. "Hi there, sleeping beauty~" He heard a familiar British drawl and opens his eyes to see the brown skinned girl he met a couple of days before grins at him, an amused smirk on her face. You immediately grumpily throw your pillow directly at her which she deflects easily and laughs. At first you found it odd that you had missed her because, that’s your thing, you literally can’t miss, but then remembered you had passed out, probably got pumped full of medicine so you didn’t think about it too hard. Besides, your head hurt way too much to worry about it.

“Aww, are we a grumpy boy when we wake up?” She cooed and moved to sit on the edge of your bed, checking your IV site and shining a light into your eyes which you shirked away from because it hurt like a mother fucker. “Mmn…How’s Y/N?” You rasped out then coughed, your throat feeling even drier than it had earlier. She hid the fact she rolled her eyes then gave you a reassuring smile. “She’s fine, Diego. Drink.” She commanded and held up a cup with a bent straw which you wrapped your lips around and took a long drink, the cold water soothing your scratchy throat almost immediately. When you pull away, she sets the cup aside and gently puts her hand against your forehead, and frowns a little bit.

She gets up and grabs a thermometer then walks back over to you. “Open.” She ordered and you rolled your eyes at her. “Lila, there’s no need for-” You protested, and she jammed the wand into your mouth before you finished talking, effectively cutting off your protests. After 30 seconds you heard the beep and heard her sigh exasperatedly as she read the numbers and tossed the covering into the trash. “You’ve got a fever, Diego. You need fluids, food, and actual rest. How’s Y/N going to get better if she’s worried about you passing out all the time?” She folded her arms across her chest and glowered at you.

“…Fine.” You sighed and leaned back against the raised back of the bed you were confined to at the moment. She smiled brightly at you and chuckled before touching your nose with her index finger and bouncing out of your room. “I’ll be back~” She called as she disappeared out of your sight. You rolled your eyes and wiped your hand over your face again and yawned tiredly. “Ugh.” You groaned and closed your eyes, thankful for the quiet. You wanted out of this room as quickly as possible, you needed to get back to Y/N.

It didn’t take long before Lila came back with a can of sprite, some decent looking food, and an empty cup full of ice. She pulled the moveable tray around to your bed and set the tray down on it with the sprite and the cup. “Eat. Drink. Be merry.” She grinned and sat back down in the chair in your room and crossed her leg over her knee. You rolled your eyes at her and ate the food as fast as possible without making yourself sick. You downed the sprite and burped loudly which made her wrinkle her nose at you and set the can down.

“There I ate, can you unhook me now so I can check on Y/N?” You asked exasperatedly and she sighed. “I’ll probably get in trouble for this, but okay.” She got up and unhooked the IV, with you looking pointedly away from it, and put a piece of gauze and tape over where it was to stop the bleeding. When she was done you gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Lila.” You patted her hand then got up and headed straight back to Y/N’s room. Hopefully, she was still sleeping and wasn’t worrying about where you had gotten off to. You didn’t feel like having to explain that you fainted because of a needle, and being dehydrated, mostly being dehydrated.


	8. Starting Recovery!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N gets out of the hospital and surprises Diego at work with the help of Vanya. We get to see Y/NS relationship with Vanya more in this chapter. <3 they're like...best friends.

Chapter 8: Starting Recovery!

You hummed to yourself while reading one of your favorite books before being interrupted by a knock on the door. You looked up and saw the brown-haired woman smiling softly at you. “Hey you.” Vanya greeted you and you waved, not really feeling like talking because you had a rough day and you really missed Diego. She sat down in the chair beside your bed after setting a paper shopping bag on your lap. You looked at her curiously wondering what could be in the bag and she just grinned at you. “Open it!” She urged you and you slowly opened it up and gasped at the little cat stuffed animal inside. You pulled it out and held it close to your chest closing your eyes happily. You giggled and grinned at Vanya who looked happy that you liked what she got you. You felt like a little kid, stuffed animals always kind of brought you back to your childhood.

“I know it’s not much, but I thought you would enjoy it.” She shrugged a little and you nodded quickly to let her know you did enjoy it. You gently set it beside of you and pulled your knees up to your chest. You had your first round of chemo and it had you feeling less than wonderful. You were sick to your stomach and sore all over. You had lost a little weight since being in the hospital and they had put you on anti-nausea medication to try to help with your appetite. You had been able to hold down some soup so far today, although you felt so sick after eating it. You were frustrated by your body and wished it would function like a normal person’s.

“Were you able to eat?” Vanya asked and you nodded in answer. “Okay good, I was getting worried…” She sighed then gasped as if she suddenly remembered something and pulled out her phone. She unlocked it and got closer to you to show you a photo that was on her screen. It was Diego curled up in a chair awkwardly and sleeping. He looked cute in a way and it made you smile. It made your heart warm and made you forget your shitty situation at least for a moment. You quickly picked up your phone and motioned to it. “Want me to send it to you?” She asked and you nodded enthusiastically a grin plastered on your face.

She grinned back at you and hit the send button making your phone buzz with a notification. You stared at the picture with a soft smile for a moment before saving it onto your phone. You heard the camera shutter click as you were looking at your phone and looked up at Vanya and pursed your lips knowing she just took a picture of you. You narrowed your eyes at her “Going straight to Diego?” you asked, your voice cracking a little from lack of use.

“Who else?” She hummed in response as you heard the noise of a message being sent. You grumbled a little because it was going to be an unflattering picture then shrugged since you had a cute yet unflattering picture of Diego on your phone now, so you guessed it was only fair. You sighed and leaned back in your bed wincing a little at the soreness in your chest, luckily you were healing well from the surgery you had went through, but it still hurt a little bit. You were tired, but that was normal for you to always feel tired. “You okay?” Vanya asked softly and you nodded.

“Mhm…I’m alright just tired.” You yawned and rubbed your eyes trying to get the burning sensation to go away. As you rubbed your eyes the nurse came into the room with a soft knock to check on you. She checked your iv port then your bandages before checking your iv-fluid drip. Everything looked good there so she turned to you and had you test your breath output which was much better than when you first were admitted to the hospital. “You’re doing good, Y/N, we might be able to get you out of the hospital soon!” She grinned at you and you grinned back at her. “R-really?” You asked excitedly and she nodded. “Yes, really.” She replied and squeezed your hand gently.

“I will talk to the doctor and see what he thinks about getting you set up on an outpatient basis.” She smiled at you before leaving the room. You looked over to Vanya excitedly and Vanya got up and gave you a hug. Not something you’d allow from most people but she was special to you. She pulled away and ruffled your hair playfully making you huff at her but laugh at the same time. Things were looking up for the first time in the last couple of weeks, but you were grateful you had Diego and Vanya by your side to support you through it.

It didn’t take long before the doctor came in and checked you over, repeating everything the nurse did. You tried to not get annoyed with the repeated tests but you knew that the doctor was just doing his job, even though it annoyed you to no end. Once he was done and made his notes, he smiled at you. “Miss Y/N, I think you should be able to go home in a few days if you continue to improve.” He declared and you beamed happily at him the news crumbling your sense of annoyance and nodded. “I will do my absolute best to get better.” You said confidently, and made a vow to yourself that you were going to get out of this hospital bed, and Vanya beamed at you proudly.

“I knew you would get better.” Vanya chuckled and the doctor gave you one last once over before patting your shoulder and leaving the room. You took as deep of a breath as you could manage and sat up in your bed. Vanya scooted up into the bed next to you and you leaned against her resting your head on her shoulder. She shifted so she could wrap an arm around you and you curled up against her closing your eyes. “Thank you for being here, Vanya…” You whispered and smiled at her. She shook her head and smiled back at you. “Hey no, you don’t have to thank me. You’re basically family at this point.” She protested your expression of appreciation. You smiled softly without opening your eyes and yawned quietly.

The next few days flew by, you felt better every day and we’re finally able to walk around without getting significantly winded just by getting out of bed. Diego was busy so Vanya had been staying with you to keep you company. When it was time for you to be discharged you had been in the hospital for almost a month. You put the ring Diego gave you back on and Vanya had brought you some of your cutest clothes and you were able to shower in your room without help which made you feel like a normal person. You got dressed and twisted your hair up into a messy bun chatting with Vanya waiting on them to bring your final papers to sign. “Does Diego know I’m getting out today?” you asked offhandedly and Vanya shook her head with a grin.

“No, I didn’t tell him. We’re going to surprise him at the gym.” She answered and you grinned back at her, excited to see your…fiancé, more of less that’s what he was. You hadn’t really talked about a wedding and that was okay, you were happy to just be committed to each other. You twisted the ring and a soft smile spread across your face as you thought back to when he gave it to you. The memory was one of your favorite moments you had with Diego, hands down. You got lost in thought and you were brought back by a soft knock on the door of your hospital room. You looked up to see Lila holding your paperwork, you smiled at her as she walked over, she had been in a few times so you recognized her as the one who calmed Diego down on a few occasions.

“Hi, Lila!” you greeted, feeling oddly social, and she smiled back, but there was something kind of fake about her smile. Your smile faltered a little as she set down the paperwork for you to sign. “Now, if you have any problems come back without hesitation.” She stated almost robotically which put you off a little. “Um…are you okay?” you asked hesitantly, not sure if she’d tell you if she wasn’t. It wasn’t like you were friends with her, you barely know her and hadn’t exactly had a heart to heart. She shrugged and ignored your question for the most part. “You understand your paperwork?” She urged, changing the subject back to the task at hand and you sighed before nodding. “Yes, I understand.” You answered and signed the papers before handing them back to her.

“Okay…now that’s done you’re free to leave.” She drawled sounding bored and took the paperwork then left the room. Vanya narrowed her eyes at Lila but didn’t say anything. You sighed and shrugged it off turning to Vanya and grinning at her. You weren’t going to let Lila’s weird mood ruin your day. “I get out of here!” You giggled and hugged Vanya throwing your arms around her. She chuckled and hugged you back. “Let’s get going then.” She urged and you let her go and grabbed your stuff before marching out the door. Vanya quickly fell in step beside of you and you waved to the few nurses you recognized.

Once you were outside Vanya walked you to Diego’s car, she borrowed it for the day to come to the hospital, normally she would take a bus, but sometimes he let her borrow it. You set your bag in the back seat and then climbed into the passenger seat. You were almost vibrating with excitement to get to see Diego. It had been almost four days since you saw him last, it was probably the longest you’d went without seeing him since he first started visiting you at the group home. You hummed to yourself and clicked your seatbelt into place as Vanya started the car.

The drive was actually quiet, you bounced your knee nervously and wrung your hands together. You didn’t know why you were suddenly full of anxiety; you had been to the gym before, Al was nice to you, called you little lady which made you smile. Diego was going to be happy to see you, you hoped…oh there was the anxiety, you were worried that he wasn’t going to be happy to see you. You sighed and bit your bottom lip to focus yourself on something other than your racing thoughts. You gulped when Vanya pulled into Diego’s parking spot and put the car into park.

“You okay?” She asked looking over at you as she turned the engine off. You hesitated for a moment before nodding with a half-smile. “Y-yeah, just…what if he doesn’t want to see me?” You mumbled and took a deep breath looking down at your feet. Vanya put her hand over yours and squeezed it gently. “Y/N, he’s going to be ecstatic. He’s been working over lately to make extra money, but I didn’t tell you that.” She reassured you with a wink and a mischievous smirk on her face. You furrowed your brows in thought trying to figure out why he needed extra money. You decided to not think about it too much and exhaled sharply before unclipping your seatbelt.

“Let’s go.” You said finally and opened the door. Vanya hummed in agreement and you both got out of the car. She motioned for you to get behind her as you walked in the door so you did and tried to make yourself as small as possible. She waved to Diego as you both walked through the door. He waved back distractedly and went back to what he was doing. He was helping a young guy with a core work out; you had almost forgotten he was a personal trainer. You slipped away to hide in the office letting Vanya fully get his attention. Maybe give minutes later he came into the office behind Vanya and his eyes went wide when he saw you.

“Y/N?” He breathed and you grinned at him from the desk you were sitting on before standing up and spreading your arms wide and spinning around. “In the flesh, baby.” You stepped forward and stopped right in front of him. You searched his face carefully and it looked like he was about to cry. You blinked and reached up to touch his face. “W-what’s wrong??” you asked and he shook his head and pressed his cheek into your hand. “I’m happy…” He whispered and pulled you into his arms holding you against his body. You saw Vanya slip out the door and close it behind her, a smile on her lips as she disappeared. You rubbed your hands up Diego’s back soothingly and he buried his nose in your hair and you felt him shake a little against you. “Whoa Diego…it’s only been a couple of days…you knew I was getting better…” you were completely confused at his reaction. You had missed him, but he seemed to miss you way more.

“I…I keep reliving the night you were basically lifeless in my arms…and now I see you standing in front of me, healthy, for the most part…I’m relieved.” He explained and you smiled softly before standing on your tiptoes and pressing your lips to his and resting your hands on his cheeks. “I’m sorry you had to go through that…I know it must’ve been scary.” You playful bumped your nose against his and pecked his lips again. “I’m right here, and I’m okay. I promise.” You took one hand and grasped his and put it over your heart. “See? My heart beat is strong…” You felt him relax against you and you smiled, you were glad you could calm his anxiety.

“Thank you…” He whispered and you shook your head. “Don’t apologize, it’s okay, Diego.” You smiled and pressed your lips to his again rubbing your thumbs over his cheeks. Finally, he pulled back and looked at you, his eyes wrinkled with a smile. “I missed you, Y/N. I love you.” He chuckled and peppered your face with little kisses and his hands didn’t let you go for a second. “I have to finish work but then we can spend some time together, okay?” He pressed a kiss to your lips and let go of you.

“I’ll be in your ‘apartment’ when you’re done. I love you, Diego.” You teased and chuckled a little. He kissed you once more, lingering momentarily before heading back out to finish the session he had with the young man you saw when you came in. You wandered back towards his small apartment set up in the boiler room of the gym. You didn’t know why he lived in the damp room, but you weren’t going to judge him. You flopped back on his bed with a smile, you were glad your anxiety was nothing to actually be worried about, you couldn’t wait for him to finish with work so you could spend time with him without machines and tubes.


	9. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Y/N spend some time together after she gets discharged from the hospital. They get intimate, Y/N has to get back to the group home, gets in cab, doesn't arrive at group home. What's going on?? Who knowssss :3 (also Diego gets her a locket that he put a picture of them together in)
> 
> *WARNING SEX IS NOT IMPLIED, ITS HAPPENING PPL, IF YOURE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT, JUST READ THIS SUMMARY.*

Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm

  
You must have fallen asleep at some point because you woke up with a blanket over you and arms around you. You twisted a little to face Diego who was behind you also asleep, he looked so peaceful. You smiled to yourself and pressed your lips to his softly before snuggling in and going back to sleep. There would be time to talk and catch up later. 

You were woken up by Diego swearing loudly over in the kitchenette and holding a towel around his hand. You sat up slowly and rubbed your eyes sleepily. “What’s goin’ on?” You asked in a mumble and he looked over to you and gave you a sheepish grin. “I was going to try to cook dinner for you…” He admitted and hissed at he moved his hand. “You would think I would have great knife skills.” He joked and glared at the offending knife on the counter. 

You patted the bed next to you after fishing around for his first aid kit. He sat down next to you and held his hand that was still wrapped in a kitchen towel out for you. You gently took it in your hands and unwrapped it carefully to see how bad the cut was. You sighed in relief when you realized it wasn’t that deep and would be fine with some gauze and tape. You quickly patched his hand up and pulled it up to your lips giving it a soft kiss. “Next time, let me cook, okay?” You giggled and he nodded before capturing your lips with his. 

After a moment you pulled away from him and walked over to the kitchen area stretching as you walked. You surveyed what he was working on and nodded to yourself before getting to work with a new and smaller knife. “Woman, I love you.” He chuckled and wrapped his arms around you from behind as you worked. You leaned back against him a little and he rested his chin on the top of your head. “Man, I love you too.” You teased back with a grin. 

You extracted yourself from his grip and turned to the stove setting a pan on the burner and turning it on. Once the pan was heated you tossed in all the things you had cut up. There was a satisfying sizzle and the smell of food almost immediately started wafting through the air making your stomach grumble as you cooked. You gave it a stir with a wooden spoon and added your seasonings. You could never forget to season your food; your grandmother would roll over in her grave if you did. After you added your seasonings you tasted it to see if it needed more, which it didn’t, so you covered it and let it finish cooking while you made a salad for you and Diego. 

Soon everything was done and you plated it up nicely like you’d seen on the tv shows you’d watch while in the hospital. Diego took his plate with a sound of appreciation and a smile. You sat down next to him on his bed, not wanting to be far from him. It didn’t take long to eat the food since you were both pretty hungry to begin with. Diego washed the dishes for you, not resisting the temptation to throw soap bubbles at you. The room almost ended up covered in soap suds and was filled with laughter and happiness. 

“Hey, Y/N, close your eyes.” He called out a little later after everything was cleaned up and you had calmed down from the goofiness. You looked at him with a confused expression and he waved his hand dismissively. “Just do it, please?” He asked as he rummaged through his dresser. You shrugged and did as was requested of you. You felt hands on your shoulders turning you to face away from him and he swept your hair out of the way before placing soft kisses to your neck and shoulders. You tensed up a little but didn’t pull away from him, you trusted he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt you. You felt something cold and metal settle around your throat and neck and he stepped away from you. 

“Okay, now open.” He said softly so you opened your eyes and looked in the mirror he had placed you in front of. There was a sweet little necklace that shimmered now hanging around your neck. It was a heart locket that had a few diamonds set in it. You opened it to see a picture of you and Diego together, you sniffled and wrapped your arms around him, giving him a kiss like you’d never done before. You couldn’t believe how unbelievably sweet and thoughtful this gift was. He kissed back, his hands resting on the small of your back softly, scared to do anything that might hurt you. You pulled away and smiled at him, your eyes shining with emotion. 

“Thank you, this was the sweetest thing anyone has ever gotten me.” You whispered and pecked his lips again. “I know we already took a nap but I’m worn out, still definitely not one hundred percent.” You yawned and shuffled over to his bed and climbed in it. He chuckled and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear with a smile. “Get some rest, I need to make sure everything in the gym is cleaned up, I’ll be back.” He kissed you softly lingering for a moment before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. 

When you woke up again you were draped over Diego’s sleeping form and had your head resting on his chest. You checked the time and it was almost 10 in the morning. You softly kissed over his bare chest and shoulders, he was just in a pair of sweat pants, and moved to his neck and face giving him feather light kisses. You saw the corner of his mouth quirk up in a smirk. “Diegooo…do you want your Christmas present early?” You whispered into his ear before giving his ear lobe a tug with your teeth. You felt his arms wrap around you as he pulled you closer to him. 

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at you as he woke up completely. “Hold on baby, let me wake up…” He murmured but pressed his lips to yours and cupped your cheek lovingly. He pulled away and yawned softly then smirked at you. “I wouldn’t mind a Christmas present early; I gave you one of yours early.” He played with the locket that hung around your neck a soft smile on his face. 

He sat up and pulled you up with him and had you onto his lap. He was still waking up but didn’t want to let go of you yet. His life seemed like a dream he was so happy. It scared him sometimes when you weren’t around as if he was going to wake up and realize he had made the whole thing up in his mind. “Let’s stay like this a little longer?” He asked, soaking up the feeling of your body against his. 

You laid your head against his shoulder and curled up against him. He wasn’t always a hands-on type of person, but you knew he needed physical touch and affection. You softly kissed his cheeks, over his scars and then finally his lips. You wanted to show him how much you cared about him. He closed his eyes as your hands wandered his arms and chest, trailing your fingers up and down his arms lovingly. “Diego...look at me?” You whispered at him and he opened his eyes slowly. 

"Can I show you how much I love you?" You ask and turn yourself around in his lap to face him. Your eyes seeking his as your heart played a fast rhythm in your chest. Your hands shook as they cupped his face softly. Diego looked at you with an expression you'd never seen before. Was it love? Yes, but something else you couldn't place. He was hesitant to move and you took your hands away from his face and moved his hands up onto your hips. "It's okay to touch me, Diego..." You whispered and pressed your lips against his softly to reassure him. 

  
You realized he was afraid, and you knew why. He didn't want to scare you by doing something that could upset you. He knew what you had been through and didn’t want to make you risk reliving it. "Y-you don't h-have to do anything like t-this if you don't want to." He stuttered and you rolled your eyes a little. "Shush you talk too much." You teased and kissed him again to make him stop thinking. He sighed softly against your lips and kissed back, sucking your bottom lip into his mouth. 

You gasped softly as he rolled his hips against yours, the friction causing a shock of pleasure to go through your body. You moved your hands to his now shaggy hair and tugged gently after running your nails against his scalp. He responded by softly biting on your lip causing you to moan quietly. He slid his hands up the back of your shirt slowly before stopping and pulling back to look at you. “Is this okay?” He asked, his eyes searching yours for a moment before you nodded. You lifted your arms so that he could pull your shirt over your head. 

He gasped as his eyes zeroed in on the fresh scars on your ribs from your surgery. You immediately out your arms down over them to cover them, you didn’t want him to stop because you wanted this, you wanted all of him. He gently took your arms and moved them away before leaning in and ghosting his lips against the scars. “You’re beautiful…” he whispered reverently before kissing over your chest taking time to play with each nipple with his tongue and lips. 

Your breath hitched in your throat as he ran his thumb over one while sucking the other into his mouth. He pulled away and looked at you, gently rubbing his hands up and down your arms. “Do you need me to stop?” He asked softly and you shook your head. “If I want you to stop, I’ll tell you.” You chuckled and leaned in capturing his lips with yours, pressing your chest against his, the cold metal of his nipple ring sending shivers through your body. 

You reached down in front of you and slid your hand down his pants, he wasn’t wearing underwear, just the sweatpants. You gently wrapped your fingers around him and slid them up and down. He had tensed up at first but was slowly relaxing and getting into it. “That’s it…doesn’t that feel good? Let me take care of you, like you’re so good at taking care of me.” You hummed in praise and kissed up and down his neck. 

He bucked his hips into your hand when you slid your hand down his pants and let out a soft moan, his eyes fluttering closed. He couldn’t describe the feeling he got when you touched him, it set his body on fire and he needed more. He tilted your head to the side and pressed his lips against your neck softly.

“Mmnn fuck…you know… t-that’s not fair” He cursed against your neck and bit down gently when you praised him and you moaned out his name. You somehow knew exactly how to get him going, he had always been a sucker for praise. He wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer if you kept doing that. You could tell he was fighting to not let himself lose control but you were definitely pushing it, and that was the plan.

He decided to take control of the situation and used both hands and slowly pushed your pants and panties down after gently guiding your hand out of his pants, giving you time to stop him if you needed him to. He slowly circled your clit then pressed two fingers inside of you when you didn’t stop him. You gasped at the pressure but it wasn’t uncomfortable. “Diego…” You moaned as he started moving his fingers in and out of you and you rolled your hips in time, brushing your clit against his hand with each back-and-forth motion of your hips. 

It didn’t take long before you felt the pleasure building and threatening to overtake you. “I’m gonna…!” You moaned a little louder than you meant to as your orgasm washed over you leaving you shaking. You had never done that with anyone before, you always took care of yourself. “That…was…m’god…” You panted and rested against Diego as he pulled his hand away and pulled you closer to him. “I love you”

He chuckled and kissed your forehead then both of your cheeks before stopping at your lips. “I love you too, Y/N.” he responded with a smile on his face. After you caught your breath you reached back down and pushed his pants down. “I have a box of condoms in my bag.” You smirked and reached over and pulled the box out and ripped a package off the folded set. “I trust you; I want all of you. Is that okay?” You asked as you held the condom out for him to take. “I want you to make me feel good, you’re so good, Diego…” You kissed over his chest and shoulders, nipping and biting playfully. 

He let out a shaky breath and rolled the condom onto himself after tearing it open. You could see that your words were almost enough to make him come undone. He steadied himself and rested his forehead against yours as he buried himself inside of you moaning out your name as he did his eyes fluttering closed again. You moaned softly and wrapped your arms around his shoulders for support. 

He set the pace slow to begin with, biting down gently on the area between your neck and shoulder and sucking to make a mark, one of his favorite things to do with you, you definitely didn’t mind it. “You’re all mine…” He moaned out and moved his hips slowly against yours “I love you…I love you so much, Y/N.” He breathed out and pressed soft kisses anywhere he could reach with his mouth. 

You appreciated that he set the pace slow at first because you weren’t used to this and your body needed time to adjust to his size. It didn’t hurt but it wasn’t terribly comfortable. “I love you, Diego…” You gasped out and almost whimpered in pleasure as he hit the sensitive spot inside you. You moved your hips against his, angling yourself to hit that spot over and over. 

He realized what you were doing and sped up just slightly, moaning quietly as you tightened around him as your orgasm made you clench around him. You shuddered and moaned out his name, your nails digging into his shoulders. He groaned in pleasure as he spilled out into the condom while still inside of you. “F-fuck..” He cursed, his forehead still resting against yours and opened his eyes. Your eyes met his brown ones and you smiled at him.

“Was that worth waiting almost a year?” You chuckled teasingly and he rolled his eyes. “I would’ve waited however long you needed; you know that.” He answered and you pecked his lips. “I know and that’s partly why I love you.” 

You carefully got up on shaky legs and looked down at yourself. “I guess it could have been messier…but I still need a shower.” You wrinkled your nose at the smell of sex and then giggled. “You do too, let’s go.” You grinned at him and he followed you to the bathroom. You both quickly showered, Diego helped you wash your hair and rinse it, then got dressed. 

Once you were dressed and your hair was up out of the way, you checked the time and swore under your breath. “I was supposed to be back at the group home by now, I gotta go.” You quickly grabbed your stuff and stood on your tiptoes to peck Diego on the lips then ran out of the room. 

“Wait! I’ll drive you!” Diego called following you outside, but you were already getting into the cab you had flagged down and shook your head, not paying attention to who was driving the car. “I’ll be fine, Diego, I love you.” You grinned at him and blew him a kiss out the window as the cab pulled away from the curb.

Half an hour later Diego tried to call your phone and got no answer so he called the group home. “Hey, this is Diego, is Y/N there? I can’t get her on her cell phone.” He asked and almost dropped the phone when he got the answer. “What do you mean she never showed up?” He snapped at the person on the other side of the phone then slammed the phone back into its receiver. What the hell was going on? Where did Y/N go? 


	10. Her Worst Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning this chapter is graphic, depictions of rape, abuse, kidnapping, hospitals, death
> 
> Y/N is kidnapped by the same man, Diego finds them, beats the man to death, y/n is back in the hospital, Vanya comes to comfort her. (For those of you who don't want to read the whole chapter) 
> 
> Diego also thinks she doesn't want to be with him anymore.

Chapter 10: Her Worst Nightmare

“ _Y/N, wakey wakey_.” A slightly familiar voice called through the darkness and you slowly opened your eyes trying not to vomit from the headache you had. The lights were blindingly bright and you had no idea where you were. A harsh slap across the face made your eyes jerk open and you took in the face leering at you. You tried to push yourself backwards to get away from him but you couldn’t move. You couldn’t make a sound, not a scream or a whimper.

“Aww back to not talking, are we? You were just saying goodbye to your boyfriend, weren’t you?” He taunted and walked in a circle around you. You followed him with your eyes the best you could but you couldn’t move your head. He had given you some type of drug and it was slowly wearing off. He grinned and drug his knife down your leg, that’s when you noticed you were naked. Your breathing quickened and you tried to scream but you couldn’t make your mouth move.

You felt the blood running from the fresh cut and tears welled up in your eyes. How could this be happening? How was he here? This must be a nightmare, he’s not really here. You had to be dreaming, right? You could feel every single sick thing he was doing to you, there’s no way this was a dream. You knew what was coming the second you heard the zipper of his pants so you closed your eyes as tight as you could get them and tried to remember the intimate time you had with Diego, how good he was to you.

The pain was blinding as the drugs started to fully wear off, he pushed inside of you causing you to scream. He slapped you harshly across the face and wrapped his hand around your neck and squeezed, cutting off blood flow and your airways. You choked and tried to fight him off, but you were still too weak. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and you lost consciousness, your body going completely limp.

You woke up in a different room with a ragged old blanket draped over you and your leg bandaged. You curled in on yourself and sobbed, he didn’t use a condom, you couldn’t get pregnant. You looked around the dimly lit room and noticed there was only one door way and all the windows were boarded up. There was a bottle of some sort of liquid beside your “bed” along with a single granola bar. You knew he wouldn’t kill you, that wasn’t part of his plan. He wanted to keep you all to himself.

He was your friend growing up, three years older than you, always looked out for you when you were little, he was your best friend. One day things changed, he kept trying to kiss you, and would put his hands on you when you didn’t want that to happen. You cut him out of your life until one day he wanted to apologize and talk to you face to face. You had agreed to that and didn’t think to let anyone know where you were going. You figured it would take five minutes of your time.

He gave you some water which you accepted because you had walked quite a bit to get to the meeting place. You were too trusting, the next thing you knew you were waking up alone, naked and tied up. You couldn’t believe that someone who was supposed to be your friend would do something like this to you.

You heard footsteps approaching and you held your breath to keep from making any noise. You shrunk in on yourself even more when you saw his figure towering above you from the floor. “Did you _really_ think that I wouldn’t get out? That I wouldn’t be able to find you?” he spat and crouched down to look you in the eye grabbing you by your hair to make you look at him.

“I will _always_ know where you are. There is absolutely no escape.” He smiled coldly and let go of your hair roughly so that your head banged against the wall. You whimpered in pain and tried to get away from him but had nowhere to go. You didn’t think Diego could save you this time, he was smarter this time, he probably covered his tracks completely. “This all would have been avoided if you had just chosen me! Don’t you know I love you, y/n?” He raised his voice and you flinched away from him, nothing but another whimper coming from your throat.

“I want you to say it, say ‘I love you Viktor’ and we can move on, I won’t have to hurt you anymore.” He whispered and grabbed your face making you look at him again. Your face contorted with anger and disgust and you spat in his face. “I-I will n-never!” You stuttered and jerked your face out of his hand earning you another hit to the face that split your lip open. You looked back up at him defiantly and smirked when you saw a dark figure slinking into the room silently.

“What’s so funny, bitch?” He asked as he wiped the spit off of his face. You chuckled and just kept your eyes locked on Diego as his fist connected with the top of Viktor’s hear. Viktor crumpled into the floor in pain and swore loudly trying to get up. Before he could get up Diego’s foot connected with his stomach and he dry heaved as he hit the floor again. You almost didn’t recognize Diego; his face was contorted with rage and it scared you.

“D-Diego that’s enough…” You tried to stand but ended up falling instead with a sickening crack coming from your right arm. You screamed in pain and tried to push yourself up with your other arm to no avail. Diego helped you sit back up and kept the blanket wrapped around you the best he could. “I’m s-sorry…” he whispered and rested his forehead against yours. You took a deep breath and shook your head. “I’m okay, Diego.” You assured him and cupped his face with your good hand.

Viktor laughed as he got up from the floor “Don’t you want to know what I did to her? She’s sloppy seconds now, brother.” He cackled gleefully, wiping his own saliva from his lips. You tried to grab Diego’s hand but were too slow. He crossed the room in one stride and was on top of Viktor hitting him repeatedly. You screamed at him to stop, but you couldn’t move. “You will _NEVER_ lay a hand on her ever again!” Diego roared as a particularly harsh punch made a nasty crunching sound and Viktor stopped moving.

You took a shaky breath and held your broken arm close to your body staring at the scene in front of you in horror. “I…” Your voice broke and you shook your head. Diego slowly stood up and turned to you, his face was covered in blood spatter and his hands were dripping blood. You closed your eyes to not see the sight anymore and felt him scoop you up silently. You heard sirens in the background and you clung to Diego as he walked you out of the building. You felt him set you down on a gurney outside and when you opened your eyes again, he was gone and the paramedics were taking care of you.

You saw them come outside with another gurney with a zipped-up body bag on it. You sniffled a little as you looked at it, whether he was a good guy, he was still your best friend at one point in your life. It was sad that his choices led him to this end. They got you settled inside the ambulance and closed the doors, you were silent the whole ride, even though they tried asking you questions, you just kept shaking your head. You wished Diego was here, he would answer the questions for you. You shifted a little and hissed when you bumped your arm, you wondered if Diego was abandoning you now, maybe he didn’t want…used goods.

You didn’t notice you were crying until you felt a soft hand take a tissue and wipe your eyes. You blinked at the woman and gave her a small smile. She returned the smile right as the ambulance pulled into the hospital. They rolled the gurney into the hospital and got you back to the emergency room. They pumped you full of pain medicine before they set your arm. The pain of it being set was almost as bad as the break itself. They gave you emergency contraceptives and ran a whole STD panel on you just to make sure you didn’t get anything from him.

They admitted you to a regular room for overnight for observation and wheeled you upstairs in a wheelchair. The nurse helped you into the new bed and got you comfortable before handing you the tv remote and leaving the room. They also left a bag of your belongings they found on the bed beside of you. You searched through it and found your cellphone. You had missed calls from Diego and Vanya. You gulped and called Vanya, not wanting to see Diego yet.

“Y/N?? Are you okay? Diego just came in covered in blood and refusing to talk to me.” Vanya’s voice came through the speaker and you choked back a sob. Vanya waited for you to speak, letting you process your emotions.

“I-I’m alive?” You half laughed in answer then took a deep breath. “I’m at the hospital, obviously…room 223. Can you come stay with me? I don’t want to be alone.” You asked softly and curled up into yourself.

“Of course, I’ll be there soon.” She replied and you hung up the phone. She couldn’t get here fast enough. You really didn’t want to be alone. It didn’t take long before she arrived and the nurse brought her to the room. She came in and scooted up into bed with you. You wrapped your arms around her and curled up against her side. She held you close and stroked your hair humming softly. The steady beat of her heart and the sound of her humming lulled you to sleep.

“Diego loves you, Y/N, and so do I.” Vanya whispered as you fell into a fitful sleep. Vanya pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of you and her together then sent it to Diego. Attached she sent the message “shes okay, thanks to you.” She didn’t get a response from him so she set her phone down and rewrapped her arms around you .


	11. His Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila tries to play dirty, Diego isn't having any of it.   
> Everything worked out and they talk it out. Enjoy :3

Chapter 11: His Decision

"She doesn't love you, Diego." Lila urged softly sitting down next to him. He had invited her over to talk since Vanya was currently unavailable. He didn't know who else to turn to. "She let you leave…she saw you for who you are, and she let you leave her there." Lila continued and he shook his head closing his eyes tightly. "You scare her." She murmured quietly and ran her fingers through his hair causing him to clench his hands into fists. 

“She begged me to stop, but I couldn’t…” He rasped out, his voice barely there. He felt defeated and didn’t know what to do. He needed to talk to Vanya, he had gotten a text from her with a photo. Y/N looked so weak and small curled up against Vanya. He sighed and looked down at his feet chewing on his bottom lip. “She let me go…she wanted me to leave…” He breathed, his thoughts spinning in his mind. 

"I'm not scared of you, I understand you…” her soft voice floated in the air as she cupped his face gently, her lips ghosting across his as she leaned in closer to him. His body stiffened and he quickly looked away from her, pushing her away almost roughly. He felt disgust bubbling in the pit of his stomach threatening to make him vomit. Just because Y/N was upset now didn’t mean he couldn’t fix it. 

"Lila, you're my friend and I appreciate you being here, but...I'm engaged to her. I'm not just going to give up on her." His voice was tight from barely controlled anger and laced with disgust. She tried to touch his face again and he slapped her hand away. "Lila, that's enough." He whispered and shook his head at her. “Even if I was interested…it’s way too soon.” He added, his voice dripping with disgust and a tinge of betrayal of his trust. “I’m going to the hospital; I want you gone when I get back. Don’t let me see you again.” 

Before Lila could continue her attempt to convince Diego to be with her instead of Y/N, a sharp knock sounded at the door. With a harsh look at Lila, he silently got up, ignoring her reaching hand as he went to see who it could be. When he realized it was Vanya, he stepped outside to talk to his sister that he had been trying to reach for hours after grabbing his keys to his car. 

He closed the door with a sigh and looked down at Vanya who had a serious look on her face. “She’s at the hospital until tomorrow and then she goes back to the group home. She’s not allowed to leave the home after she gets checked back into it.” Vanya explained, not beating around the bush. “She’s also on suicide watch because when I left the room to get something to eat, she found something sharp and…” Vanya shuddered at the thought but didn’t go into any detail. 

He inhaled sharply and nodded clenching his keys in his hand. They dug into his skin painfully but he ignored it. “Can I see her?” He asked quietly searching Vanya’s face for some kind of answer. “Does she even want to see me?” He asked even quieter. She hadn’t called him, she called Vanya for comfort. He had to admit it hurt, but he understood why she did. Vanya set her hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile. “I came here to get you, stupid. She keeps asking for you.” She reassured him. 

He let out a shaky breath and chuckled anxiously. “O-okay. Let’s g-go.” He agreed and walked down the hallway with Vanya leaving Lila in his apartment. He got in the driver seat of his car and Vanya got in on the passenger side. He put the car in drive and peels out of the parking lot towards the hospital. 

Once they were there he wasted no time getting out of the car and heading into the hospital, Vanya hot on his heels. Vanya told him where to go after he got his visitors badge and he rushed up to the second floor to room 223 where Y/N was. He hesitated at the door, letting Vanya go in first. He wasn’t sure how to face Y/N at this point. 

Your eyes slowly opened when Vanya sat on the edge of your bed you gave her a soft smile before your eyes locked on Diego. You gasped slightly and your eyes filled with tears. “You’re here…” you whispered and he nodded and stepped further into the room. He sat on the other side of the bed and you scooted so that you were almost laying on top of him. 

He wrapped his arms around you and held you close as you buried your face into his shirt and sobbed, finally letting everything out. He rubbed his hand up and down your back soothingly and made shushing sounds. “I’m here, baby, and I’m not going anywhere.” He reassured you and you hiccupped before taking a deep breath to calm yourself. He was really here, you were in his arms, you were safe. “D-don’t e-ever l-leave like that e-ever again.” You sniffled and wiped your face with the back of your hand before Vanya handed you a tissue to use. 

“I won’t.” He assured you and tilted your chin up to look at your bruised face. You could see the guilt and sadness etched on his face. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath then gave him a weak smile. “Diego?” You said his name in question as you opened your eyes. “Yes?” He answered quietly. 

“Kiss me?” You asked him, just like the very first time you kissed. He smiled softly and leaned in and pressed his lips gently to yours. The warmth and softness of them washed over you and everything else melted away. You both seemed to forget Vanya was in the room until you heard the click of the door closing behind her as she left the room. 

“Do you know how much I love you?” You asked resting your forehead against his gently. His eyes crinkled into a smile and he grinned a little at you. “How about you tell me?” he suggested playfully and nuzzled his nose against yours. 

“I love you so much. Everything is okay when you’re with me. You make me feel safe. With you I feel like I can do anything.” You spoke quietly but he could hear every word. Your heart beat quickened in your chest as you continued speaking. “I love you so much that it scares me. I don’t know if I would be okay without you and the thought of being without you is crippling. I-I know that’s not healthy…but I need you, Diego…I can’t do this without you.” Your voice broke some as you spoke and tears welled up in your eyes. 

“I feel the same…You’ve become such a huge part of my life that if I lost you it would be like losing a part of myself. You make me feel whole, something I haven’t felt in a long time.” He chuckled wryly and softly kissed your lips affectionately. “It scares me too, but I couldn’t see myself being with anyone else but you. I meant it when I told you I wanted to love you for the rest of my life when I gave you that ring.” He smiled softly and held your hand in his own running his thumb over the ring you never took off. 

“Is it o-okay that I’m…used goods?” You asked and looked away from him pulling away slightly. “That’s why you left isn’t it? You only came back because Vanya went and got you?” You continued, your thoughts getting the better of you. “You wouldn’t want someone like me…” You mumbled and scooted away from him trying to get out of his grasp. 

He pulled you back gently making sure not to bump your arm and kissed the top of your head. “Y/N, you are not used goods. Yes, he did things to you that no man should ever do to a woman. Yes, he hurt you deeply emotionally and physically, but you’re not broken. You’re you, and to me, you’re perfect.” He kissed over the bruises on your face gently and kissed your temple. “It doesn’t matter what happens, it won’t make me stop loving you.” 

You swallowed hard and wrapped your arms around him the best you could with your cast and bandages and rested your head on his chest. “I’m sorry that being with me isn’t easy. I would understand if you wanted to leave, it would make your life simpler.” You whispered and he chuckled. “I’m here to the end, baby. I’m not looking for easy, or simple. I want to be with you, I’m choosing to be with you.” He whispered back giving you a light squeeze. “I love you, silly girl.”


	12. All's Well That Ends Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy ending!! We have some announcements but not what you think! I hope you enjoy the end of the end of this story.
> 
> Thank you guys for reading, I really appreciate all the support!!

Chapter 12: All’s Well That Ends Well

~4 months later~

“Diego!!” You scolded with a grin on your face as the doorbell rang. You skidded to a stop in front of the door giggling as he was tickling your sides and you were running from him. “Stopppp company is here.” You whined when he kissed the back of your neck and shoulders because you were wearing a tank top and left your skin exposed. Reluctantly he relented and let you open the door. A diverse group of people made their way inside and scattered themselves on your furniture. Vanya however stopped to give you a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“So, newly-weds! How was the honeymoon?” The lanky dark-haired man asked airily from the chair he had perched himself upon and you felt your face heat up and you looked at your feet. “The hotel was amazing, and the city was beautiful. Glad we picked New Orleans, Diego even stopped a robber, just couldn’t help himself.” You chuckled skipping the personal details of your vacation. Diego kissed the top of your head and gave his brother a warning glare. “Vacation was amazing, we got some much-needed time away, but it wasn’t your honeymoon so, we get to keep the details to ourselves, Klaus.” He smirked and then sat down on the couch next to Vanya before pulling you down into his lap and wrapping his arms around you lazily.

“Anyway, thank you all for coming, Klaus, Allison, Luther, Vanya, Five…” You addressed each of them with a smile. They had no idea why they were all there, no one ever asked them all to get together because they always ended up arguing with each other. “You’re all here because we have exciting news!” You started and they raised their eyebrows. You knew they were expecting a pregnancy announcement, but that wasn’t it…completely.

“We’re buying the group home I used to live in, the company was having trouble so we did some crowd funding and we were able to raise enough money to buy the company and keep the home open.” You continued with a big smile on your face. “Also, we’re expecting a new member of the family, a cute little puppy that we’re rescuing as soon as the mother gives birth and the puppy is old enough.” You added as an afterthought.

“So you’re business owners?” Five asked raising an eyebrow a look of surprise on his face. “I suppose you’re going to need some extra brains on board huh?” He asked with a smirk. His roundabout way of offering to help out if it was needed. “I would appreciate that, Five, thank you.” You smiled softly at him and his smirk turned into a sort of genuine smile. “Yeah, well, with Diego as co-owner, you’ll need all the help you can get.” He muttered, only half joking. “also, the dog better be taken care of, I won’t stand for animal neglect.” He added in a very serious tone that made you grin even more at him.

“I’m only here for the celebratory drinks.” Klaus chimed in which made you giggle and roll your eyes. He smirked at you and downed a glass of champagne, belching right after. Diego suppressed a snicker and Five sighed loudly. “Stay classy, Klaus.” Allison quipped from the other side of the room.

“I for one, think this is an amazing thing you’re doing. I’m proud of you.” Allison smiled at you. You smiled back and nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t be here today without that place so I wanted to do what I could to save it!” You grinned proudly.

“I don’t know much about running a business…but if you ever need security, I know a lot about that.” Luther spoke up and you chuckled. “Thanks, big guy, but I don’t think we need security, but we do have little kids who have heard stories about the man on the moon and want to meet him. They have all sorts of questions.” You grinned at him as his face lit up. He could talk about all things that had to do with the moon all the time, so this was perfect for him.

“I can still go and work with the people who live there, right?” Vanya asked and you nodded. “Of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way.” You smiled softly at her. Vanya had basically become your best friend since you had met her. You’d been through so much with her. “You can go by any day that you want, no questions asked.” Diego added and gave her hand a squeeze a smile on his lips.

“Wow, are we all here and no one is fighting? Who are you Hargreeves siblings?” You snickered and waved your hands at the food and drinks that were set on the table in the dining room. “Have at it, it’s a celebration after all!” You grinned and leaned back against Diego, happy to see the siblings chatting and getting along. It hadn’t been too long since you met the rest of Diego’s family but…you were glad that you were now a whole part of it.

After a couple of hours everything wound down and they all went on their way home. You cleaned up the small mess that was left behind and hummed to yourself. Diego had fallen asleep on the couch, so you draped a blanket over him with a soft smile on your face. You watched him sleep for a little bit before deciding to wake him up “Diegooo…” You whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek.

He opened his eyes slowly and smiled softly at you “There she is…” He murmured and pulled you down on top of him. You giggled and nuzzled your face into his neck and cuddled up against him. “I have something to tell you.” You pushed up a little to look at him. He raised an eyebrow at you “What’s that?” he asked and you giggled and pressed your lips to his. “I love you.” You answered when you pulled away then kissed both his cheeks then his forehead. “I love you too.” He chuckled and squeezed you tightly. “More than anything…” He trailed off and you rested your forehead against his. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” You closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling of calm that came with being with Diego.


End file.
